Many organizations are adopting hybrid work models that allow employees to work remotely and access business-critical applications from outside of the office. This shift requires rethinking your IT infrastructure and developing a new approach to deliver secure, efficient cloud access.
Unfortunately, legacy remote access solutions, such as VPNs, struggle to keep pace with modern operations in terms of security and performance.
Using Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) to optimize cloud access for hybrid workforces combines networking and security into a single solution to provide seamless, scalable access alongside zero-trust protections for current distributed workforces.
While the spread of remote work and cloud adoption was already underway, the pandemic accelerated this transition. By enabling remote work, organizations could continue to operate during lockdowns and social distancing.
But with greater flexibility for employees and the ability to tap into global talent pools for organizations, hybrid workforces are here to stay. This shift makes using SASE to optimize cloud access for hybrid workforces more important than ever.
Legacy solutions, such as VPNs and on-premises firewalls, were designed for centralized offices and static perimeters.
They struggle with modern hybrid workforces, creating:
Hybrid workforces introduce new challenges for IT teams:
To maximize productivity among hybrid workers, you need to overcome these challenges while creating a seamless user experience regardless of location.
Without a new approach, remote workers create security gaps, poor user experiences, and compliance issues. The solution is to implement a hybrid workforce SASE solution for fast, protected cloud access to business-critical systems from any location.
SASE is a collection of cloud-native networking and security technologies rather than a single solution.
The framework integrates Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) cloud routing with advanced security capabilities, including:
When implemented correctly, this combination enhances security while providing optimized access to cloud resources from anywhere. Cloud access SASE best practices help optimize the UX while maintaining security by combining ZTNA cloud security, CASB, SWG cloud monitoring, and identity-based access controls.
Unlike legacy perimeter-based approaches, SASE delivers security to the network edge through distributed Points of Presence (PoPs), ensuring lower latency and consistent protection across devices and locations. Users connect to the nearest PoP using SD-WAN cloud routing, rather than slowing down connections by routing traffic back to centralized data centers.
Here are the most important ways SASE enhances network security include:
SASE uses ZTNA to ensure no user, device, or application is trusted by default. Every access request is continuously authenticated and authorized. This is essential for hybrid workforces, where users connect to sensitive cloud resources from various devices and networks.
Plus, contextual information (e.g. identity, device posture, and location) is incorporated to determine the risk associated with each request.
ZTNA cloud security enables employees to connect securely to SaaS apps or internal resources from anywhere without exposing the broader network. Through continual authentication and contextual access policies, SASE eliminates implicit trust and mitigates security risks, such as:
SASE unifies multiple security services into a single platform. This simplifies IT management through centralizing policy management for remote and office users from a unified dashboard.
By consolidating firewalls, SWGs, and CASBs, you streamline operations while improving consistency.
SASE enables uniform policy enforcement across cloud, on-prem, and remote environments, reducing security gaps and misconfigurations. Policies are enforced at the nearest SASE PoP, bringing protection closer to the user. Organizations can also apply Data Loss Prevention (DLP) rules and encryption standards consistently as data moves across devices, networks, and cloud services.
This is vital for maintaining compliance.
Distributed workforces make endpoint and traffic monitoring more challenging. SASE addresses this with:
This proactively blocks malicious traffic.
For example, CASB extends visibility into the cloud even for unapproved SaaS applications. CASB helps identify shadow IT and enforce DLP policies, giving organizations holistic visibility into SaaS usage.
Modern hybrid workforces depend on reliable, high-performance connectivity to stay productive. Traditional network architectures often create latency, bottlenecks, and inconsistent user experiences, especially for remote employees.
Using SASE to optimize cloud access for hybrid workforces solves these challenges by combining SD-WAN cloud routing with cloud-native security, ensuring fast, resilient, and secure access to business resources.
SASE integrates SD-WAN technology to route traffic for optimal performance. This allows users to connect to cloud apps with low latency and minimal packet loss, even when working remotely.
Since SASE is delivered from the cloud, organizations can scale it easily without the need for expensive upgrades. This is crucial for supporting business growth or organizations with fluctuating workforces. Many SASE providers offer a global network of access points (PoPs), ensuring that employees, regardless of their location, receive the same level of security and performance.
Providing consistent access is crucial for enhancing the productivity of hybrid workforces.
Employees need to know they can always access applications and resources using different devices and connecting from other networks. With ZTNA cloud security, SASE allows users to safely access what they need wherever they are working from.
Plus, with global PoP networks, SASE solutions can dynamically adjust to potential issues. Rerouting traffic to maintain connectivity in the event of network issues.
Using SASE to optimize cloud access for hybrid workforces requires a detailed and well-thought-out implementation strategy. Here are the 5 steps for developing your own SASE cloud optimization strategy.
Successful SASE adoption starts with assessment and planning. You need to develop a clear strategy based on your current network architecture and identify potential issues that hinder remote access to the cloud. Understanding your hybrid workforce needs is also crucial, from remote and mobile users to branch offices and the critical applications they all use in their day-to-day work.
Finally, when selecting a SASE provider, you must consider factors, such as:
Assessing how SASE cloud optimization integrates with existing infrastructure is crucial for a seamless transition. Organizations can leverage existing security investments within a SASE framework, such as utilizing identity management or endpoint security solutions, to enhance the final security strategy rather than replacing them.
A good approach when using SASE to optimize cloud access for hybrid workforces is phased deployment. This allows IT teams to integrate SASE without significant disruptions to daily operations.
Users are central to the successful rollout of hybrid workforce SASE solutions for cloud access. Onboard hybrid workers by educating them on ZTNA cloud security and other new secure access workflows, to help them understand the strategy behind the architecture.
Minimize disruption by clearly communicating the benefits of SASE, reassuring employees that it will enhance security and performance, ultimately improving the remote user experience.
SASE enables proactive monitoring of network performance and user behavior to determine if the new solution is achieving your intended goals, allowing employees to access cloud resources seamlessly from any location.
Policies should be refined regularly based on monitoring data and feedback from key stakeholders.
Finally, measure results by comparing cost savings from reduced hardware and subscriptions as well as improvements in employee productivity and secure, seamless cloud access.
This ensures that the SASE strategy continues to deliver measurable business value.
By following implementation strategies and cloud access SASE best practices, you can transform your network and security approach to match the needs of modern hybrid workers. But, the leading factor impacting the adoption of new SASE cloud optimization solutions for hybrid workforces is selecting the right vendor.
Check Point SASE offers enterprise-grade protection for any business and secure access to cloud resources, no matter where the user is connecting from. Built on a globally distributed high-performance private backbone, you can deliver robust protection at the network edge within a cost-effective and easy-to-use SASE solution.
Learn more about Check Point’s industry-leading SASE platform, including how to connect users, sites, and resources with ZTNA cloud security, by scheduling a demo today.
